Wednesday morning began with excitement and bustle. Local
advisors registered with their states to get conference materials
and ensure that their competitors are registered for the
correct events and sessions.

Beginning at 8 am, HOSA’s nominating committee held
national officer interviews for the eight officer candidates
applying for a position on the 2005-06 National Executive
Council. The officer candidates running for office this year
are:

Conference registration for local advisors, which took place
from 8 am – 1:30 pm, was busy and exciting as advisors
received conference materials from their state advisors.

HOSA is excited to welcome 50 exhibitors to the 2005 National
Leadership Conference. Exhibitors include the Alzheimer’s
Association, American Association for Respiratory Care, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill,
Health Professions Network, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,
Pocket Nurse, Society of Nuclear Medicine, Thomson Delmar
Learning, U.S. Army ROTC and many more! HOSA’s exhibitors
promote careers in the health professions and help HOSA members
gather more information about their future in health care.

On Wednesday afternoon, a local and state advisor orientation
was held for new HOSA advisors, which serves as an introduction
to the National Leadership Conference and allows advisors
to ask questions about Competitive Events and conference
procedures.

The Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Issues Exam was held between
2 – 3:30 pm, and the secondary and postsecondary/collegiate
first place will be announced at the Recognition Session
on Friday evening. Kaiser Permanente has generously offers
a scholarship for the first place winners of the Healthcare
Issues Exam, which is a wonderful opportunity for HOSA members.

Orientation and Round One tests took place throughout the
day for HOSA Bowl, Creative Problem Solving, Parliamentary
Procedure and Medical Reading.

HOSA is very thankful to the delegates who volunteered their
time to serve as Courtesy Corps members. These representatives
spent part of their afternoon in Opening Session Practice
and were assigned duties for later in the evening.

The Opening General Session is very exciting for HOSA delegates
whether it is the first time they have attended the National
Leadership Conference and even if they have been before,
each delegate looks forward to the energy and excitement
that the Opening Session promotes. This session is a great
way to kick off the NLC and spread the HOSA spirit.

The Opening General Session began enthusiastically as the
HOSA delegates were welcomed to the session with pyrotechnics
and a laser show. HOSA members cheered throughout the 5,500-seat
ballroom and expressed the pride they feel for their state
and their own accomplishments throughout the past year. It’s
truly a sight to be seen and the thrill of the National Leadership
Conference spread quickly.

Chelsea Price (WV) sang the National Anthem beautifully
and represented her chapter, Boone Career and Technical Center
with pride.

The 2004-05 National Executive Council was introduced and
Lauren Sheldon, National HOSA President, declared the 2005
National Leadership Conference in session.

Commissioner James Neeley from the Tennessee Department
of Labor and Workforce Development welcomed HOSA delegates
to Nashville. Following Commissioner Neeley, Cory Rogers,
Tennessee State HOSA President, also offered a generous welcome
to Nashville and truly displayed Tennessee’s outstanding
hospitality.

HOSA was honored to have a very special guest at this year’s
National Leadership Conference, Rear Admiral Cristina Beato,
M.D., FAAFP, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.

Her capacity as the acting assistant secretary for health,
Dr. Beato serves as the principal advisor on health policy
and medical and scientific matters to the secretary of HHS,
oversees the Office of Public Health and Science and supervises
related programs and activities within the Department. In
addition, she is rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service
Commissioned Corps.

Board certified in family medicine, Dr. Beato has dedicated
her professional life to improving health and well being
of individuals, families and communities. She emigrated from
Cuba in her childhood and went on to receive her undergraduate
and medical school education at the University of New Mexico.
During her medical residency, Dr. Beato instituted the first
formal medical community outreach program for abused, neglected,
and abandoned children at the All Faiths Receiving Home in
Albuquerque.

Dr. Beato spoke passionately about healthcare in America
and emphasized that HOSA members should take advantage of
every opportunity they have and should continue to follow
their dreams. She stressed that healthcare in the United
States is not categorized by individual doctors, nurses,
pharmacists, etc. but a team that works together to accomplish
the goal of helping others. Dr. Beato made an amazing impact
on HOSA members by attending the NLC and making time to understand
how important HOSA is to the future of healthcare.

HOSA is truly honored and extremely
grateful to Dr. Beato for attending the 28th Annual NLC.
We are hopeful that Dr. Beato became more familiar with HOSA
and was given the opportunity to see the future of the healthcare
pipeline in HOSA members.

After Dr. Beato accepted her plaque, the following VIPs
from across the nation were recognized at the opening session:

Joyce Boudreau, Ohio Department of Education Iris Wilson, Department of Education, District
of Columbia Jacalyn Eberhart, State of Missouri

The following former National Officers were recognized
for their attendance at this year’s NLC:

Jason Huff Richard
Ernst Lynne McGee InglePam
Ashley

Honorary Life Membership, HOSA’s highest honor, was
presented to two outstanding individuals:

Fifteen HOSA chapters were recognized for going above and
beyond by participating as partners with The National Research
Center for Career and Technical Education. They assisted
in a study to provide information and research purposes to
recognize the value-add of Career and Technical Student Organizations
to classroom learning.

The following chapter advisors were recognized for assisting
in completing this survey:

The following state associations were recognized for increased
membership in the 2004-05 affiliation year:

Iowa

Idaho

Kansas

Oregon

New York

New Hampshire

Indiana

West Virginia

Illinois

California

Utah

Michigan

South Carolina

Georgia

Kentucky

Pennsylvania

Alabama

New Jersey

Oklahoma

Florida

Tennessee

Texas

The following associations were
recognized for their membership increase in the 2004-05 membership
year:

Michigan HOSA Achieved an outstanding 20.9% membership gain.

West Virginia HOSA had a 21.5% membership gain.

Illinois
HOSA obtained a 22.1% increase.

New York HOSA increased membership 22.7%

HOSA’s
third largest increase was achieved by Iowa HOSA, with
a 27.5% membership gain.

The state with the second largest percentage of membership
increase with 32.5% was South Carolina HOSA

HOSA’s
largest percentage increase award was for an impressive
36.9% for Kansas HOSA.

Texas HOSA was honored to accept the award for largest state
association with a record-breaking 13,419 members!!

In the beginning of the 2004-05 membership year, South Carolina
and Michigan established a friendly competition geared toward
increasing both states’ membership. Overall, South
Carolina won with an impressive 555 members!! Michigan, state
advisor, Mark Burley reluctantly presented South Carolina’s
State Advisor, Nancy Allen, with a trophy that Michigan is
hoping to get back next year! It is apparent that the friendly
competition between the two states was very effective. Congratulations
South Carolina, and we look forward to next year’s
results!

HOSA recognized the three largest chapters during the opening
session as well. The chapters are:

Largest Secondary Chapter with 216 members: Providence
High School, North Carolina

Largest PS/C Chapter with 233 members: Meridian
Community College, Mississippi

HOSA state associations and national HOSA awarded over
$181,000 in scholarships for the 2004-05 membership year!
National HOSA Scholarship recipients that were in attendance
at this year’s NLC were awarded their scholarship on
stage with the sponsor from the contributing organization.

The following scholarship recipients were in attendance
at the 2005 NLC:

To conclude the evening, HOSA welcomed
keynote speaker Dan Clark, CEO of a multi-million dollar
corporation and the primary contributing author to the Chicken
Soup for the Soul series. Dan is an internationally recognized
speaker, entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and nationally
best-selling author. Dan began writing and speaking professionally
after recovering from a serious injury that cut short his
football career. Dan, an inspirational speaker, encouraged
HOSA members to be themselves, be the best they can be, take
advantage of the opportunities that HOSA offers and to make
their dreams today into the realities of tomorrow. HOSA thanks
Dan Clark for inspiring our members and sharing his life
stories.

Wednesday’s opening session motivated HOSA members
to accomplish their goals and take advantage of all the NLC
offers. It was a great way to begin HOSA’s 28 th annual
National Leadership Conference and spread the HOSA spirit!